Discussion Paper

Meeting the demand for debt relief

Abstract: Each year, millions of financially distressed consumers in the U.S. face a difficult choice among the debt relief options available to them. This paper describes the options available to borrowers who seek assistance in managing their debts and discusses the information and incentive problems associated with these options. It also reviews the trends that contributed to the breakdown of the repayment framework and the responses to these trends. Among the responses is a reconsideration of the regulatory structure of the debt relief industry. The paper concludes with a discussion of the importance for debt relief providers and policymakers to evaluate the efficacy of workout options and to develop a deeper understanding of how consumers make decisions about incurring and repaying debt.

Keywords: Debt relief; Consumer credit;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Part of Series: Consumer Finance Institute discussion papers

Publication Date: 2011

Number: 11-04